Dart Creek Farm

Everything is moving right along at Dart Creek Farm. The turkey poults and layer chicks have arrived and the broilers are out on the pasture in their movable pen. The sun has shown its face, the grass is getting greener, and the singing birds are starting to return.

I started the pen down in the yard next to the house. I wanted them close for the first few days so I could keep an eye on them and make sure they got settled in without any problems. The pen gets moved once a day after they’ve had a chance to eat all of the fresh greens, worms, and bugs in that area. It will take about a week to make it out of the yard and into the big pasture. They have already gotten used to the process of the house moving to fresh grass.

After researching for many months and reading about various pasture pen designs, I settled on this one. Part of the reason was that I had all the materials on hand already. The 4′x16′ livestock panels and chicken wire came from the old  chicken yard I have been slowly deconstructing. The cedar wood for the frame and and door came from my pile of “hippie wood” I got from Idaho a few months ago. The bell waterer came from a set of 5 I bought from someone off eBay (got a tip from a fellow APPPA member) for a really good price. The 5 gallon bucket I picked up from the Rebuilding Center in Portland for 25 cents. While I was there I also bought a sink and and tile to build an outdoor processing station (pictures are on the way). The feeder was made from materials I had laying around, PVC pipe, wood ends, screws, hung from the ceiling with saved bailing twine. The tarps to cover the whole things came from the dwindling pile of horse stall bedding.

 Here I just filled the PVC feeder. The chickens are slowly learning to peck the grass and look for bugs, but they go crazy for the natural feed crumbles.

 The brooders are all ready for chickens and turkeys.

The turkey poults and layer chicks arrived on the same day. I was very busy putting the finishing touches on the turkey brooder so they would have a nice warm home. Here the turkeys are getting used to their new crib. The blue enclosure is made from the left over piece of barrel from the construction of the automatic chicken plucker. After the broilers are processed at the end of this month, the movable pen will be available for the turkeys to get some fresh pasture grass and bugs.

There is an outer door…

…and an inner door to prevent drafts from entering the brooder. I will eventually install window covers that are hinged and can close them in during bad weather.

Babs (Kim named him when he was young and didn’t know he was a rooster) and his ladies.

The new layer chicks. We got a mix of heavies that lay big brown eggs.

So, now all there is to do is feed, water, and move the pen daily. The Cornish X’s will be processed around the 1st of May and then the daily chicken chores will be fairly easy for Kim, Kaitie, and Dylan to do while I’m recovering from the ‘ol chop o’rama. I’m hoping that by June I will be able to start another batch of broilers and another after that before the season is over.

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by Michael Lobby

Well, it was a little bit of a frenzy getting the brooder ready for the arrival of the cornish cross chicks. I received a friendly early morning phone call from the post office the morning after their two day journey from Missouri. I could barely make out the voice on the phone as the little chicks were peeping loudly in the background.

I converted the outside stalls of the barn to a chicken brooder, turkey brooder, and a remodeled stall for Chatta (Dylan’s horse).

 The girls are always interested in what’s going on.

I framed the inside like a horse stall so one day when I have a movable pasture pen for the layers, we can use it for a horse.

Home for the Cornish X’s. Feed is placed on newspaper for the first couple of days so they don’t eat the bedding. After that they will start eating from a feeder. The red bell is a waterer that is gravity-fed from a 5 gallon bucket.

Here is Dylan checking out his dinner. The lamps have 250 watt bulbs that warm the area under them to about 95 degrees. They are gradually raised above the floor until the chicks don’t need the heat anymore and can go out on to the pasture.

Chatta’s new digs.

 Eventually, the space next to Chatta’s stall will be closed in also. That would bring the barn up to ten 12×12 spaces for horses and farm animals.

The turkey brooder will house 25 Broad Breasted Giant White Turkeys. I have begun deconstructing the the old chicken coop/yard and reusing the materials for other things. The door of the turkey brooder came from the old yard. The cedar that frames the windows is from a load of cedar I got from Idaho last Summer.

Reuse is a very big thing for me personally. There are materials I used for the barn that came from our last two houses. I figured out I’ve reused about 90% of the old barn in the construction of this new one. The downside of reuse, though, is the fact that our shop and storage shed is getting pretty packed with things that “I could use for something someday.”

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by Michael Lobby

Well, my surgery has been scheduled and I have just enough time to raise one batch of pasture-raised broilers. I placed my order for the day old chicks and they should be arriving next Friday. So, a lot of work to do this weekend to get ready for the little peepers. I will be enclosing one of the outside stalls and installing bell waterers, warming lights and feeders. The stall should be quite warm and cozy and ready for them after their long journey from Cackle Hatchery in Missouri. The 10-day weather forecast is calling for some “light snow at 500 feet this weekend” which for us translates to icy driveway. It should mellow out by the end of the week when the chicks are scheduled to arrive at the post office.

They will remain in the brooder stall for about 3 weeks before we can start to harden them off for transfer to a moveable pen in the pasture (which I still have to build). Their remaining time will be spent in the pen on fresh grass. The pen will be moved on a daily basis so the chicks can feast on new greens and bugs and leave their rich fertilizer behind. At about the 8 week point they will dress out at 4-6lbs. They will be available for pickup at the farm on butchering day for all those who placed their orders and reserved some of this delicious farm raised goodness.

My plan is to recover from surgery by the end of July and then start another batch that first week of August. Hay will be cut, baled and stored by then. I’m also looking forward to raising some plump turkeys to be available for the holiday season. We are beginning to feel the symptoms of Spring Fever and are very excited about a productive growing season! Look for updates on this blog as well as our farm site www.dartcreekfarm.com

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